Cleaning compositions incorporating green solvents and methods for use

Abstract

An environmentally-friendly cleaning composition for industrial and consumer applications comprising (a) a blend of dibasic esters, (b) one or more surfactants (c) and, optionally, (d) water or a solvent. The dibasic esters are be derived from a blend of adipic, glutaric, and succinic diacids, and, in one particular embodiment, the blend comprises dialkyl adipate, dialkyl methylglutarate and dialkyl ethylsuccinate, wherein the alkyl groups individually comprise a C₁-C₁₂ hydrocarbon group. The one or more surfactants are typically chosen from alcohol alkoxylate, an alkyl phenol ethoxylate, a terpene, a terpene alkoxylate or any derivates thereof. Optionally, additional components or additives including delaminates such as pinene and d-limonene, fragrances, whiteners, stabilizers, thickeners and the like can be added to the composition. The industrial or consumer application selected from the group consisting of a graffiti cleaner, a painted-substrate cleaner, an ink cleaner, a metal substrate cleaner, a plastic substrate cleaner, an environmentally friendly cleaner, a stain-spot cleaner, an industrial hand cleaner, a resin cleaner, a tar resin cleaner, a textile cleaner, a paint stripper and any combination thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 127,021, filed on May 9, 2008; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 188,760, filed on Aug. 12, 2008; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 191,897, filed on Sep. 12, 2008; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 212,545, filed Apr. 13, 2009; herein incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to cleaning compositions that are environmentally friendly, biodegradable, non-toxic and non-flammable with low odor, low vapor pressure and low volatile organic compound (VOC) content and, more particularly, cleaning compositions utilized for multiple consumer and industrial applications.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Many commercially available cleaners incorporate environmentally hazardous and toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It has been found that VOCs are linked to ozone formation and contributed significantly other health hazards. In the pri...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020]The cleaning composition of the present invention is environmentally friendly, with a high flash point, low vapor pressure and low odor; it falls under the consumer products LVP-VOC exemption criteria established by CARB and the EPA (certain sections). The cleaning formulation of the present invention has environmentally friendly characteristics including but not limited to being non toxic, bio-degradable, non-flammable and the like.

Problems solved by technology

Many ink cleaning compositions contain aromatic groups that are in many cases toxic and are not environmentally friendly in that they do not biodegrade well.

Often these solvents will be low vapor pressure solvents with low flashpoints that are also extremely flammable.

Such compositions are undesirable in light of the increased awareness for human exposure to toxic materials and the demand for environmentally friendly, non-toxic solvents.

However, the drawbacks in utilizing these solvents have not diminished their use.

As another example with respect to surface (e.g., painted surface) cleaners, most commercially available cleaners contain hazardous or aggressive solvents that can remove some stains, but pose health hazards, fire hazards and / or have strong odors.

The use of these and related solvents is also not desirable because of the potential pollution and environmental problems associated with the disposal of such solvents.

In addition, cleaners containing aggressive solvents also damages the underlying substrates that are being treated, such as painted surfaces, wood, carpet, and the like.

These kinds of cleaners may pose health hazards, fire hazards and have strong odors.

It is also possible that aggressive formulation may permanently damage clothing and textiles.

It is, however, very difficult to completely remove permanent marker from many of these substrates, in particular plastic substrates.

Generally, there is currently no satisfactory environmentally friendly cleaner for removing permanent marking pen from these substrate surfaces.

Most of the commercially available “eco-friendly” cleaners are generally formulated for cleaning house-hold stains such as pen, crayons, pencils, lipsticks, washable marker and the like, but are not strong enough for hard-to-clean stains such as permanent marker and the like.

In addition, even if such cleaners can clean most of the permanent ink from the substrate, in most cases there remains some visible markings on the substrates.

On the other hand, other cleaners contain hazardous or aggressive solvents such as NMP (N-methyl pyrrolidinone).

These kinds of cleaners may pose health hazards, fire hazards and have strong odors.

It is also possible that aggressive formulation may permanently damage the applied-upon substrates.

The availability of environmentally friendly solvents, however, is limited because such alternatives generally do not provide satisfactory performance.

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